There’s nothing as wondrous as Alberta blue. Sky, that is.
That’s the closing line to the Travelling Mabels’ signature song, “Alberta Blue,” which they no doubt will be performing at the RancheHouse in Cochrane on Jan. 20. There will be two performance times, at 11 am and again at 1 pm and each performance will be a little different.
The Travelling Mabels are an award-winning folk/country group from southern Alberta. For more than 15 years, they have brought their own unique brand of harmony, humour and musicianship to audiences from coast to coast, performing at venues ranging from folk clubs and community halls to big festivals.
The unique format for the shows in the RancheHouse theatre start off with cowboy poets, western music, and Indigenous performers followed by 45 minutes with the headliners.
So why the “Mabels”?
“(Band member) Eva and her husband met a couple when they were long-haul trucking and they had this ornery little dog that would do things like knock over your beer just so she could drink it,” keyboardist Keith Floen recalled.
“And when we were thinking of a name for the band, it just became The Travelling Mabels. So we’re named after a dog.”
Expect anything at a Mabels concert.
“It’s a kitchen party,” Floen said. “The instruments come out and there’s singing and stories and laughter, maybe a few tears, and just a good time – that’s a Mabels show.”
“Eva spins stories and tells really bad jokes, and we all have little stories about the songs we do . . . it’s a kitchen party, plain and simple.”
The Mabels have shared the stage with many notable artists including Ian Tyson, Tom Jackson, The Elvis Imperials and Gene Watson. They have also collectively written and recorded four CDs which have enjoyed extensive airplay on radio stations.
An anecdote from their website says that an ardent fan once said, “If the Eagles and the Trio (Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris) were a family, then surely their children would be The Travelling Mabels.”
Their song release, “Alberta Blue” has been a long time fan favourite and features a cameo vocal performance by the legendary Ian Tyson.
Their latest album titled Take Me Home features 11 songs, comprised of mostly original music, a Billy Joel instrumental cover and a remix of their most popular song “Alberta Blue.” The lyrics to “Alberta Blue” have been featured in an award winning Children’s board book titled “Alberta Blue - A Prairie Sky Lullaby.”
An excerpt from the song: "Let me sing you a picture of an Alberta sky. It's as wide as the world, and about twice as high. First the golden pink sunrise warms the land with its hue. Then a new day begins wrapped in Alberta Blue."
